5.28.2009

the gps.

behold: the gps...

you may have one -- and i don't judge you per se. but i'm going to rant a bit.

i understand the allure of electronics -- they do cool stuff, make your life a bit easier. it is a need of mine to always have a stereo with bass that makes you feel like you're having a heart attack. even with the gps -- what a great invention -- an on-the-go road atlas. esPECially for when traffic or construction strikes - you can navigate around. BUT. everyday i commute just under an hour, utilizing two major highways, leaving my house around 6:15am. and during my drive, i estimate that about 40% of the drivers i pass have a gps affixed to their dashboard, turned on, presumably directing them to their place of work. what's up with that? i feel like this should be a post on "stuff white people like". is it just the excitement of having a number of space satellites reminding you of your current position -- a position you have been driving EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE?

i do not share this as a judgment -- i would actually like to have one at some point for the previously mentioned reasons of negotiating traffic and construction. but i guess i share this as a reminder of our seemingly instinctual desire for accumulation of more and better 'stuff' -- and in this case, 'stuff' that can offer a sense of false security, as well as a reliance on a piece of equipment rather than our natural problem-solving abilities and sense of direction. that and a $5 map.

below is an illustration of the consequences -- yes, it is from The Office. but there are many cases of it happening IN REAL LIFE.